Shoppers spend their garden budgets on furniture over flowers

Spending on furniture and barbecues a priority over plants as people are 'living' outdoors

The rare scorching summer has turned home improvers' attention outdoors as they are splashing out hundreds of pounds on glamming up the garden.

However, most of their money isn’t being invested in colourful planting or trying to revive roasted lawns – instead, they are buying weatherproof furniture, mood lighting and top of the range barbecues.

According to research done for lighting store LED Hut, Brits who are lucky enough to have a plot to call their own are spending an average of £389 to make sure their back gardens are looking their best (even if the grass has turned brown in the heat).

Top priority are comfortable garden seats, loungers or tables for sunbathing (hopefully adequately protected by sunscreen) and enjoying meals outdoors, with 63 per cent saying that is where they had been allocating their gardening budget.

Following on from that, making sure rusty old barbecues are replaced with beautiful new ones that can grill burgers, smoke meat and fish or even spit-roast a chicken, has been a key concern for 59 per cent of people.

And as parents are constantly urging their children to enjoy the fresh air, 55 per cent of Brits said they had been buying trampolines and climbing frames.

But the idea of using the garden as an al fresco living space seems to have really taken hold, with 47 per cent saying they have been buying lights, cushions and outdoor decorations for it, and 33 per cent admitting they had refreshed their garden to keep up with homestyle trends.

People are definitely seeing it as a social area as more than half confessed to embarking on their garden update to impress visiting friends and family.

Thirty nine per cent of homeowners surveyed said they were updating their outdoor space in a bid to add value to their home

Plants and lawn products actually came relatively low in the order of purchasing priority, revealed Paul Garner, ecommerce & marketing director at LED Hut:

'Looking at homeowners' garden shopping lists, it’s surprising to see those items which make a garden a green space, such as lawns and plants are only fifth on the list.

‘However, it’s s fantastic to see so many Britons making the most of their outdoor spaces and planning to refresh them to enjoy them with friends and family. Unlike in recent years, this summer’s endless days of sunshine and long, balmy evenings have allowed Britons to spend more time their garden.’